Home
by DBSean
Summary: Catra feels she no longer has a place in the war after she defects from the Horde and moves to Bright Moon. "It's everybody's war," Adora reminds her. "You just have to remember what you're fighting for."


" **Home"**

 **A/N: I've been wanting to write a fic that depicts Catra's life in Bright Moon after defecting from the Horde, and it turned into this. The story follows a similar format to "Stolen Moments," which is one of my personal favorites. Enjoy!**

Catra couldn't sleep.

It was her first night sleeping in Bright Moon, and to say she was uncomfortable would be an understatement. Catra had finally defected from the Horde alongside Scorpia and Entrapta the previous evening, and the three of them together had traveled to Bright Moon in hopes of joining the Rebellion. Their reception had been cold, to say the least, but Adora had vouched for their sincerity and thus convinced Queen Angella to let the three of them stay, at least temporarily.

Just like Entrapta and Scorpia, Catra had been granted her own bedroom, a small but cozy affair with a large bed, two windows, some matching furniture, and glowing crystals for lights. It was exceedingly generous, all things considered, and Catra had been more than happy to accept it.

Until it came time for her to sleep, that is. Suddenly, everything about the room was wrong. The bed was too soft; the crystals were too bright; the windows let in too much noise. Finally, after spending the better part of the night tossing and turning and growing increasingly frustrated, Catra gave up and left.

It wasn't long before she found herself standing awkwardly outside of the door leading to Adora's bedroom. Catra stood there for almost a full minute, doubting her decision, before sighing in defeat and knocking on the large door. A moment later, it was answered.

"Hey, Adora," Catra said with a small but weary smile as the door opened to reveal her friend.

"Catra?" Adora asked, yawning slightly. Her blonde hair was a mess and she was rubbing one of her eyes, indicating she had clearly just woken up. "What's wrong?"

"Couldn't sleep," Catra answered with a shrug, suddenly refusing to look Adora in the eye.

Adora smiled knowingly. "I had trouble sleeping my first night here, too. It's okay."

"I know it's _okay_ ," Catra countered with a frown, as though suddenly offended. "These rooms are ridiculous. Everything is pastel. It's a wonder _anyone_ gets any sleep around here."

Adora laughed gently, keeping her voice lowered, as though there was anyone else in the hallway to hear the two of them talking. The sight and sound of her laughing made Catra's heart flutter in recognition, the first such feeling of comfort she had felt since arriving in Bright Moon.

"Come on," Adora finally said, taking Catra by the hand. "You're sleeping with me tonight. Just like old times."

"Like old times," Catra repeated under her breath as she let Adora lead her into her bedroom, which was even larger and more ridiculous than Catra's own. Hell, Adora's even had a _waterfall_. What was that _for_ , anyway? Showering?

Adora got into bed first, slipping under the covers and then moving over to ensure there was enough room for Catra, who joined her a moment later, curling up next to her on top of the blankets just as she had done a thousand times before in the Fright Zone. It was familiar for Catra, comfortable, and something about having Adora there made it feel all the more like home.

"Better?" Adora asked.

"Better," Catra confirmed, closing her eyes and burrowing further into the bed.

They were both asleep within minutes.

Catra would elect to sleep with Adora again the next evening, and the evening after that, and the evening after that. Gradually, she stopped even going to her own bedroom. By the time a week had passed, she had already forgotten where it was.

"Do you _have_ to go?" Catra asked from where she was lounging on Adora's sofa.

"Of course I have to go," Adora answered, busily packing emergency rations and other essentials into a backpack. "I _am_ She-Ra, after all, and Etheria isn't going to protect itself."

Two weeks had passed since Catra's defection, and Adora was preparing for a mission. The Rebellion had received word from their spies that the Horde was establishing a new base of operations just outside of the Whispering Woods. As such, Adora was on her way to investigate (and most likely destroy) the base alongside Glimmer, Bow, and Scorpia, the latter having volunteered in order to help them better infiltrate the base (and perhaps prove her worth and loyalty to those in the Rebellion who had been hesitant to let her join in the first place).

The only problem is that Catra didn't want Adora to go.

"Just let one of the other princesses handle it!" Catra groaned. "There's, like, a dozen of them."

"None of whom are closer to the Whispering Woods than we are," Adora countered her with a small smile. "This is what being in the Rebellion is about, Catra. Going out on missions, helping people, fighting the Horde. You're more than welcome to come; we could really use you."

But Catra just frowned and looked away. "I told you, Adora. It's not my war. Not anymore."

"It's everybody's war," Adora reminded her gently. "You just have to remember what you're fighting for."

"I don't _have_ anything to fight for," Catra answered bitterly, still glaring at the ceiling and refusing to make eye contact. "I don't think I ever did."

Adora let the subject drop as she continued packing, leaving Catra to sulk on the sofa. Though Catra was trying to act aloof, Adora knew from the way that her tail was moving back and forth anxiously that she was still upset. She waited until she was finished packing to talk to her again.

"You know I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do," Adora finally told her sympathetically, hoping her friend could sense her honesty. "If you really feel like you don't have anything worth fighting for, or even if you just don't feel comfortable doing it…then I won't ask you to fight."

"I know," Catra answered after a minute, her voice much gentler than when last she spoke. She finally got up as she watched Adora pick up the Sword of Protection, indicating she was about to leave. "Hey, Adora?"

"Yeah?"

"Just…be careful, okay?" Catra said, walking up to Adora and hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder, as if reassuring herself she was still there, at least for the moment. "Come back to me. Don't leave me here alone."

Adora smiled and reached up to squeeze Catra's hand on her shoulder. "Never."

True to her word, Adora returned from her mission in the middle of the night to find Catra waiting up for her. Adora didn't even have a chance to fully enter her room before Catra was upon her, tackling her to the ground in relief before inspecting her friend for any cuts or bruises. They retired to bed shortly thereafter, and Adora could have sworn Catra was sleeping closer to her than usual.

Catra had been in Bright Moon for a month when she asked Adora to run away with her.

The two of them were sitting on the roof of the palace at the time, watching the sun set over the red horizon, just the two of them. Entrapta had left earlier in the day to finally return to Dryl, which had become a target of the Horde since her defection, and Catra had taken her departure harder than she thought she would.

"Just the two of us," Catra told Adora at the time, speaking softly but sincerely. "You and me, like we always used to talk about. We can leave it all behind. The Rebellion, the Horde, the war…everything. We can start over, do whatever we want, _be_ whoever we want."

"Is that really what you want?" Adora asked, frowning more out of concern for her friend than anything else. "To give up everything and just…leave?"

"More than anything," Catra admitted. "Just you and me against the world. Like old times."

There was a lengthy silence between them after that, with both of them facing forward and watching as the sun finally began to disappear over the peaks of the purple mountains bordering the kingdom of Bright Moon. Catra knew what Adora was going to say even before she said it, but there was still a part of her that hoped, that always hoped, and it was that part of her that was most active that day.

"You know I can't leave," Adora finally answered, leaving Catra disappointed but not surprised. "People here are depending on me. I'm _She-Ra_. The Rebellion needs me. _Etheria_ needs me. Besides, if the Horde isn't stopped, it won't matter _where_ we run; the war will always find us. You know that."

"Maybe I don't," Catra responded, pulling her knees up to her chest and once again refusing to make eye contact. "And maybe I don't care what happens to Etheria. Maybe I only care about what happens to you."

She looked up when she felt Adora take her by the hand and intertwine their fingers. Adora was smiling at her, softly, maybe even a little sadly, but smiling nonetheless, and it melted Catra's heart to think she might have put that smile in jeopardy.

"I'm not going anywhere," Adora assured her gently, squeezing Catra's hand in her own. "And neither are you. We're in this together now, and we have to see it through. No matter how hard it gets, I'll be right here. And I promise things will get better."

"You can't promise that," Catra protested, squeezing Adora's hand right back. "Not really."

"Maybe not," Adora conceded gently. "But I can promise this: whatever happens, we'll deal with it together. You and me. Like we always have."

Catra didn't answer. Instead, she sat there and continued to stare at the darkening sky until she felt Adora unravel their hands; she was just looking over to see why when Adora slid over next to her and laid her head on Catra's shoulder, resting right in the crook of her neck.

"Please stay, Catra," Adora said softly, her voice little more than a whisper that inadvertently sent a shiver running down Catra's spine. "For me?"

 _Damn it_ , thought Catra, suddenly fighting back a small smile. _She's too good at this._

With a sigh, she rested her head atop Adora's, as though accepting her affection. Her tail instinctively wrapped itself around Adora's waist, pulling her closer still, and for once Catra wasn't embarrassed or ashamed of this.

"Okay," she finally answered, reaching over and once again taking Adora's hand in hers. "For you. But _only_ for you."

In the days and weeks that followed, Catra tried to follow Adora's advice and give Bright Moon more of a chance. She ventured out of Adora's (their) room more often each day, and tried to be as open as possible to spending time with the other residents.

She joined Adora and her friends for dinner every evening, and sometimes for breakfast, depending on whether or not she felt like sleeping in. As time went on, she found herself starting to warm up to Glimmer and Bow, whose optimism and general cheerfulness was irritatingly infectious. Glimmer was stubborn and wonderfully dramatic, not unlike Catra herself at times, and it was impossible _not_ to like someone as friendly as Bow.

"So, how are you adjusting to Bright Moon?" Bow asked her one day as dinner was coming to an end, after Adora and Glimmer had both finished cleaning up the dishes to take them into the kitchen. "I know the palace must seem strange, but hopefully it's better than the Fright Zone."

"I guess it's okay," Catra answered hesitantly, still a little surprised whenever anyone but Adora or Scorpia engaged her in conversation. "Food's definitely better here. And at least now I don't have to worry about being ambushed by a superior officer on the way to the bathroom."

Bow laughed at that, evidently thinking it was a joke, and the sound of his laughter was so simple and so pure that Catra didn't have the heart to inform him otherwise.

She often found herself following Adora around Bright Moon on days when she wasn't leading the Rebellion into battle. Her daily schedule was strict and structured, as was befitting a former soldier of the Horde, and Catra found comfort both in the routine and in Adora's presence. As such, it wasn't long before she noticed how Adora always seemed to linger for a few seconds in front of a certain engraving in the main hall, as though looking to it for answers.

"It depicts my husband, King Micah," Queen Angella informed her one day after the two of them found each both looking at the engraving in the hallway. "He was lost many years ago, during one of the initial battles against the Horde."

"Oh." Catra considered apologizing, then decided against it. "I always see Adora looking at it. I don't know why."

"Perhaps for the same reason I so often find _myself_ looking at it," Queen Angella answered thoughtfully, turning back to the engraving. "It reminds me why I fight, and what I fight for. It reminds me that the Horde took from me the person I loved most in this world. Perhaps Adora looks at it to remind herself of the same thing."

"But Adora joined the Rebellion because of She-Ra," Catra said, frowning somewhat in confusion. "Who did _she_ lose to the Horde?"

And to Catra's surprise, the queen smiled, the first time she had ever seen the queen smile at her since the moment she arrived in Bright Moon. "Why, _you_ , of course."

Catra's favorite time of the day (aside from falling asleep next to Adora) was combat training. Though she still refused to take part in the war itself, Catra was nonetheless raised to be a soldier, and fighting was a tough habit to kick. More to the point, she was _good_ at it, and she knew it. Her sessions in the Bright Moon training grounds often attracted small crowds of recruits and cadets, and it wasn't long before she found herself offering tips and pointers to some of the more pathetic soldiers-in-training.

"It's really good of you to help out," Adora told her after watching Catra demonstrate how to properly spar with a group of cadets. "They could use someone to look up to that isn't She-Ra once in a while."

"I'm not exactly the role model type," Catra disputed as she surveyed her unofficial students' progress. "Their form was just so awful, I had to do _something_ , you know? And better they learn it from me than from the business end of a Horde blade."

"Even so," Adora responded with a smile. "Maybe one day you'll join us on the battlefield and show them some _real_ moves."

Catra frowned a little. "Maybe one day. But not today."

And then the day would end and Catra and Adora would retreat to their room and go to bed together, as they always did. Adora would slip under the covers, Catra would curl up next to her, and the two would either fall asleep shortly thereafter or stay up for a while and simply talk or enjoy the presence of the other.

"I missed this," Adora said one evening as she absentmindedly scratched behind Catra's ears, half-asleep and fading fast. "I missed _you_."

"I missed you, too," Catra responded softly, leaning in to Adora's touch. "So much."

The first time Adora came back from a mission with anything worse than a limp or a bruise, Catra was livid. Catra had been waiting up for her, as she always did when Adora went off to battle, looking out the window and anxiously tapping her fingers on the windowsill, when Adora finally arrived. Catra spun around the moment the door opened, and her expression of relief transformed almost immediately into one of both anger and fear.

Adora was hurt. Badly.

In no time at all, Catra had removed most of Adora's clothes (including and especially those already soaked in blood) and forced her to lay on their bed so Catra could better tend to her injuries. Adora protested, of course, insisting she was fine, but Catra ignored her and focused instead on the bloody bruises covering her body.

"It's really not as bad as it looks," Adora complained as she winced slightly regardless. "It barely even hurts."

"Only because it isn't _infected_ yet," Catra chastised her impatiently, using wraps of gauze to clean up some of the blood covering much of Adora's left side. "Your field medics are crap, by the way. What the hell even happened?"

"I just took on too many soldiers at once," Adora answered, wincing again but still refusing to admit the extent of her injuries. "I got cocky. It happens sometimes, when I'm She-Ra. But it won't happen again."

"It better not!" Catra said, practically hissing as she did so. She finished applying ointment to the wound on Adora's side now that it had finally stopped bleeding. "This isn't a game, Adora. I told you to be careful. Now turn around so I can look at your back before I bandage you up."

Catra gasped the moment Adora rolled onto her stomach. Almost the entirety of Adora's upper back was either bruised or covered in painful second-degree burns, the likes of which Catra had never seen before. The fact that Adora had been able to stand back up after attaining such an injury was impressive enough, but now Catra was wondering how she was even still conscious.

"What…what happened?" she finally asked, her heterochromatic eyes widening as she surveyed the damage.

"Mace," Adora admitted after a few seconds of thought. "Well, a couple maces. I told you, there were a lot of them."

"And?"

"…and a blast from an energy cannon."

" _What_?!"

"The cannon was aimed right at a couple of kids!" Adora protested. "I couldn't just let them die, and I didn't have time to use my shield, so I just…jumped in front of them and took the blast myself. I know it was stupid, but I didn't know what else to do at the time."

Once she finished explaining, Adora was fully expecting to hear Catra speak out in protest, perhaps telling her that her life was more important than those of a few random kids, or else reminding her that She-Ra was not indestructible despite her awesome might. What she _didn't_ expect to hear was Catra struggling (and failing) to keep herself from crying.

"Catra?" Adora asked as she turned onto her side and then carefully sat up next to Catra, doing her best to ignore the pain. Catra was grimacing darkly with her eyes squeezed closed, as though doing so would stop the tears from falling. "Catra, it's okay. Really. I'll be fine."

"No, damn it, you won't!" Catra responded angrily, her voice cracking and her breath hitching as she spoke. She wiped at her eyes furiously, trying to dry them as quickly as she could. "You won't be okay, Adora, because you're always so busy looking out for everyone else that you never bother to think about yourself!"

"Catra…"

"I was scared, Adora, okay?" Catra went on, practically yelling now, angry at herself for letting the tears fall. "I was scared you left me again, scared you weren't going to come back. I'm _always_ scared you won't come back. I can't lose you again, Adora, I just can't."

"You aren't going to lose me," Adora reassured her, placing a hand on Catra's shoulder and speaking to her softly. "I will always come back. So long as I have you, I'll always have a _reason_ to come back. We're together now, and we always will be."

Catra sniffed. "You promise?"

"Yeah," Adora said with a smile, "I promise."

"Good," Catra said, once again wiping her face clean of tears. "But you better actually _keep_ this promise, or I'll kill you _myself_."

That caused Adora to laugh hard enough that she almost ended up hurting herself all over again.

 _It's not my fight_ , Catra tried to remind herself as she watched the conflict from the palace. _Etheria can burn for all I care. It's_ _ **not**_ _my fight._

The Second Battle of Bright Moon had begun. Queen Angella was out of commission, and that meant the Moonstone (and thus the rest of Bright Moon) was unprotected and open to attack. Worse still, the other Princess Alliance was nowhere to be found; as far as Catra could discern, the Horde had launched attacks against all of the Rebel kingdoms at once in order to keep the individual princesses busy while the majority of their forces attacked Bright Moon, the true capital of the Rebellion.

As such, it fell to the resident heroes of Bright Moon to defend their home. She-Ra led the charge, as she often did, crushing tanks with her bare hands and sending entire squads flying with each swing of her sword. Glimmer and Bow followed after, blasting away any remaining resistance before moving on to the next wave of soldiers. Even Scorpia was fighting for the defense of Bright Moon; she had somehow managed to commandeer a Horde tank and was currently in the process of using it to destroy as many of the remaining tanks as possible.

The only one who wasn't fighting was Catra.

 _I shouldn't be watching this_ , she thought to herself, the sounds of battle and slaughter ringing in her ultrasensitive feline ears. _I'm not a soldier anymore, Horde or otherwise. This isn't my war. This isn't my fight. I don't belong here._

And yet…part of her longed to enter the fray. That killer instinct, that trained soldier the Horde had raised was still in there, perhaps hiding, perhaps diminished, but still very much alive. But that wasn't her anymore, she reminded herself. She was supposed to be beyond that now. Beyond fighting, beyond taking sides.

 _It's not my war. It's not my war. It's not my war._

So then…why was she still watching?

 _KROOM!_

Catra was shocked out of her thoughts by the sound of the explosion in the distance, one large enough that it bathed the entire battle in brilliant fire and light. As the smoke and fire faded, Catra managed to make out a single form crouching at the epicenter of the blast, surrounded by machine parts and smoking ruins: She-Ra. The Princess of Power was wounded and faltering, having apparently been caught in the middle of the explosion, and desperately needed help from her companions.

Except no one came. Glimmer and Bow were on the other side of the battlefield, and Scorpia was caught in a duel with another Force Captain. Even the other Rebel soldiers were busy defending themselves, fighting their own fights.

She-Ra – Adora – was on her own.

 _It's not my war! It's not my war! It's not my war!_

As Catra watched, a squad of elite troopers began to close in on She-Ra's position, each of them drawing a powerful electroshock spear. From the color of the voltage – red – Catra could tell these ones were of the lethal variety. It was a death squad.

She-Ra either didn't notice the squad of troops closing in around her or else was unable to respond; instead, she remained on her knees in the center of the crater, leaning on her sword and trying to catch her breath. She was defenseless.

What Catra did next, she did without thinking. One moment, she was standing among the fortifications of the palace and watching the fray from afar, the next she was halfway across the battlefield, leaping from soldier to drone to tank, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. Catra moved so quickly that most Horde troops didn't even know she was upon them until it was too late; they were already falling to the ground by the time she had moved on, or finding their weapons and uniforms torn to pieces. She had a destination in mind, and she didn't plan on stopping until she had reached it.

Back in the crater, Adora had grown aware of the approaching troops and their lethal electroshock spears, but was using all of her strength and focus just trying to maintain her state as She-Ra. She had two, maybe three good swings left in her, but that was it, and she realized it might not be enough to save her. Nonetheless, she was just about to go down fighting when Catra appeared as if from nowhere.

The troops – elite death squad or otherwise – didn't know what hit them. The first troop went down without a sound, his throat slashed to ribbons with claws that could tear through steel. The next two troops were dead before the first even hit the ground, Catra having claimed his electroshock spear and turned it upon his partners. The remaining soldiers converged upon Catra, but it was too late; a few dodges here, a parry or two there, and within seconds all of the elite troops were dead, either burnt to a crisp or bleeding out into the ground.

As Adora watched, eyes wide with both shock and awe, Catra stood before her, facing the rest of the Horde, and unleashed a fierce and animalistic roar that would have sent Hordak scrambling to leave the planet.

"Face me, cowards of the Horde!" she bellowed, the bloodlust gleaming in her eyes as she brandished her bloodied claws for all to see. "Fall before my claws or be struck down by the sword of She-Ra! You die today either away!"

What followed was a whirlwind of blood and violence unlike any either the Horde or Rebellion had witnessed in many months. Catra was seemingly unstoppable in her rage; she was fast, she was experienced, and, perhaps most dangerously, she was _merciless_. It wasn't long before the tide of the battle turned, and Horde casualties began to significantly outnumber those of the Rebellion. Soon enough, what remained of the Horde was in full retreat.

The Second Battle of Bright Moon was over.

"Thank you," Adora said to Catra, long after the battle had come to an end.

The two of them had retired to their room for the evening, both in desperate need of a good night's sleep. Adora had made a full recovery, due in no small part to the powers granted her by the Sword of Protection, and what few injuries Catra had sustained had been successfully treated. The time for fighting had ended; now was the time for rest.

"You don't have to thank me," Catra responded nonchalantly, still busy trying to dry her unruly hair after Adora had forced her into a shower.

"I do, actually," Adora countered with a smile, taking the towel away and running her fingers through Catra's wet hair in hopes of unraveling any remaining knots before she could finish drying it. "You saved my life, Catra. I don't think I would be here if it weren't for you."

"Yeah, well, I _definitely_ know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you," Catra said with a small smirk, pushing Adora's hand out of her hair despite how nice it felt. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be with the Horde. Hell, I might have been the one trying to kill you out there."

"You might have been," Adora agreed, "but you weren't."

They finished drying Catra's hair and then prepared to settle down for the night, slipping into their nightclothes and taking their rightful places on their bed, with Adora once again under the covers and Catra lying curled up next to her. They tended to face each other nowadays, and often the last thing they saw before falling asleep was the eyes of the other.

(It still made Catra's heart flutter a little when she thought about how the cot had stopped being _Adora's_ bed and had since become _their_ bed, not that she would ever admit it.)

"What made you change your mind?" Adora asked one they were settled in and preparing for sleep. "About fighting, I mean. You said it wasn't your war. What made you change your mind?"

And Catra found herself smiling gently as she looked back at Adora, gazing into her clear blue eyes and basking in the glow of her presence. Everything about her was perfect to Catra, from her unbridled confidence to her heroic idealism to her general naivety about the world around her. She was kind in a world that was naturally unkind, and Catra admired that.

"I listened to your advice," Catra finally answered after a moment. "I finally found something worth fighting for. I found a home."

"You mean Bright Moon?" Adora inquired.

"I meant _you_ ," Catra said softly, leaning in closer as she spoke. "Wherever you are is home to me, Adora. That's how it's always been. And I will defend my home with my life."

And with that, Catra finally closed the gap between them, pleasantly surprised to find Adora's lips meeting hers halfway. They pulled each other into a soft and loving embrace, their need for the other never before being so strong or so natural, and when their kiss finally ended, it was only so they could come crashing together again seconds later.

For the first time since Catra left the Horde all those weeks ago, all of the doubt and loneliness and anxiety that she had felt on a daily basis seemed to just disappear, to be replaced by a strong and powerful sense of belonging, one she had never felt before. As she and Adora laid there in bed together, each in the arms of the other, eyes closed and lips pressed together, Catra realized this was what she had always wanted, even if she hadn't known it at the time.

Finally, after all these years of fighting, Catra was home.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments and reviews!**


End file.
